“I want to experience success there and they gave me a chance.”
Recently making the switch from theManly Sea Eagles to the Canberra Raiders, rising young playmaker Callum Dowell has opened up on his rugby league journey and revealed his aspirations ahead of the 2026 season.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Canberra Raiders have recruited some of the game’s best young players, such as Ethan Strange and Savelio Tamale, as they aim to establish themselves as a premiership contender for the next decade.
After bringing in the likes of Ethan Sanders in 2025, they have continued to sign several promising youngsters ahead of next season, with Sione Finau, Campbell Munn and rising playmaker Callum Dowell joining the club.
Originally from Aberdeen in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Dowell will arrive at the nation’s capital after two seasons at the Sea Eagles, in which he proved his worth not only on the field but also amongst the playing group, which saw him named the club’s 2025 Jersey Flegg Cup Players’ Player award.
Now he is ready for the next challenge in his career.
“They’re obviously very good in the NRL but if you look at all their junior teams, they are all going very well,” Dowell told Zero Tackle.
“I just love winning, so when I got an opportunity to go to the Raiders, I was like, that’s a team that loves to win.
“I want to experience success there and they gave me a chance.
“They’ve got such a great fan base. It gives off a bit of small-town sort of team vibes, and you see their fans, they’re just so fantastic and it’d be awesome to run out to the Viking Clap one day.”
Preparing for his first season at the Raiders in 2026, Dowell will play alongside close mates Jake Clydesdale and Campbell Munn, who has also made the move to the club from the Northern Beaches.
“That’d be a pinch myself moment if I got to run out with both of them boys especially because I played footy with both of them at Scone and went to school with Jake,” he added.
Still eligible to play in the Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup competition, he is hoping to push for a spot in the NSW Cup competition as he continues to develop his skills on both ends of the field.
“I’ve always had aspirations to play at the highest level, but honestly, I just want to go down there and rip in,” he said.
“I’d love to push for an NSW Cup spot, but I just want to get back to winning, whether that’s in Flegg or Cup.”
Although he has departed the Sea Eagles, he credits Anthony Watmough as one of his biggest influences in rugby league after playing under him in the Jersey Flegg Cup and Sydney Shield competitions.
“I can’t thank him enough for all the things he has done for me. He (instilled) confidence in me and (showed me) the importance of defence and being physical. I can’t thank him enough.”
However, away from the rugby league field, Dowell credits his family, who used to drive him nearly three hours to training, as his biggest supporters and role models.
“It sounds cliché, but there’s no way I’d be where I am without them,” he added.
“They never put pressure on me to play, and they’ve always been all-in. I can’t thank them enough and I love them so much.”
He also hopes his younger sister, Summer Dowell, a rising centre for the Newcastle Knights in the Under-19s Tarsha Gale Cup, will play in the NRLW one day.
“I always tell people that I toughened her up. I’m proud of her, she’s done great and she deserves it so much,” he said.
“She works hard and she loves it. I would definitely be her biggest fan if she ever played in the NRLW.”
